From Engagement Rings to the Big Top: Weddings turn into a Circus

In news that should surprise no one, considering how this family has a history of publicizing their drama, Hulk Hogan’s wedding turned into a bit of a circus the other day.

The former pro wrestler and reality television star exchanged wedding rings ith girlfriend Jennifer McDaniel, whom he has been dating since shortly after his divorce in 2008 and is 22 years his junior.

The wedding, which took place at Hogan’s home in Clearwater, Florida, was disrupted when a fight broke out and police were called in to settle things down.

Apparently, a paparazzo did his best to crash the wedding which resulted in a confrontation with Ron Howard, a family friend that was acting as security for the event. According to the gossip website TMZ, the photographer, Robert Martinez, put his elbow to Howard’s throat warning him that he was “packing a gun.”

The local police were called to the scene and have confirmed that a firearm was involved, however no arrests were made. Regardless, the small celebration that included Hogan’s two children from his first marriage went on happily with the star tweeting a picture of his new diamond and platinum wedding band. “This time were really gonna make history,” the former wrestler wrote.

Once famous for his career with the World Wrestling Federation, Hogan is now more closely related to his former VH1 reality series, Hogan Knows Best, as well as his family’s personal drama, which included messy, public divorce proceedings with wife Linda Hogan, to whom he was married for 24 years.

In other wedding-circus related news, an elephant was a surprise guest at Nicole Richie’s wedding over the weekend. Apparently arranged by her father, musician Lionel Richie, the elephant was a gift for the ceremony that took place at his home in Beverly Hills.

Although it has been criticized by animal rights activists, the elephant was apparently a childhood dream of Richie’s and has come up before. In 2005, while previously engaged to DJ AM, Richie told Ryan Seacrest that elephants are a symbol of good luck while on Larry King Live and that she hoped to have them at her wedding one day.

It seems that her father made her wishes come true when the reality starlet and fashionista married her longtime boyfriend; rocker Joel Madden, on Saturday.